Blur bass player launches curried cheese range

He famously swapped a rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle for cheesemaking in the
Costwolds, but now Alex James, the former Blur bass player, has gone one
step further and signed a deal to sell a range of cheeses through Asda, the
UK’s second biggest supermarket.

By James Hall, Consumer Affairs Editor

5:38PM BST 17 Aug 2011

However in a move that has got purists in a fluster, Mr James’s cheese range includes unconventional flavours such as ‘cheddar and tikka masala’ and ‘cheddar and tomato ketchup’. Some rivals have accused the musician of resorting to gimmickry in order to sell the produce.

The nine-product Alex James Presents… range, which has been produced in collaboration with Somerset-based company Norseland and also includes flavours such as ‘cheddar and salad cream’, is “cutting edge and truly innovative”, said Mr James.

“I’m hugely passionate about this range and I’m so excited that I’ve been able to bring it to life. It’s definitely cheese, but not as the nation knows it,” he said.

However established cheesemakers expressed surprise at the flavours.

Dom Coyte, who runs the Borough Cheese stall in London’s Borough Market and is a self-confessed cheese purist, said: “For me, adding tomato sauce to a cheese in the process of its manufacture is an abomination. But tomato sauce even as an accompaniment to cheese is not an appetizing thought.”